In today’s energy landscape, one pressing question dominates new hydrogen projects: if you were to build a production facility from the ground up, which process offers the best long-term economic viability—especially with the potential rollback or reduction of the 45V tax credit in the United States?While existing steam methane reforming (SMR) plants may remain cost-effective due to depreciated infrastructure and low operating costs, the picture changes significantly when it comes to new builds. SMR is capital-intensive, and without government incentives for carbon-heavy methods, its business case becomes increasingly fragile. Growing pressure from global carbon pricing, ESG investment criteria, and cross-border climate policies only reinforces this trend.This is where methane pyrolysis, as developed by Hazer Group, becomes strategically significant. Unlike SMR, it produces no CO₂. Instead, methane is split into hydrogen and solid carbon (graphite), a marketable by-product used in industries like battery manufacturing and steel processing. The process not only drastically lowers emissions, but also creates an additional revenue stream.Without the 45V credit, both electrolysis and SMR projects lose substantial financial support. But methane pyrolysis, which has never depended heavily on subsidies, stands out for its emissions efficiency and commercial resilience. It eliminates the need for expensive carbon capture and storage systems, keeps running costs low, and is scalable.In this context, for anyone planning a new hydrogen facility today, methane pyrolysis could well be the smarter, more future-proof choice. Hazer’s technology is no longer just an alternative – it’s increasingly shaping up as a viable and practical solution for producing clean hydrogen in a rapidly shifting global policy environment.
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